iPhone

iPhone is a line of smartphones designed and marketed by Apple that uses Apple's iOS mobile operating system. The first generation iPhone was announced by former Apple CEO Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007. Since then Apple has released new iPhone models and iOS updates annually. As of November 1, 2018, over 2.2 billion iPhones were sold.

The iPhone has a user interface built around a multi-touch screen. It connects to cellular networks or Wi-Fi and can make calls, browse the web, take pictures, play music, and send and receive email and text messages. Since the launch of the iPhone, more features have been added, including larger screen sizes, shooting video, waterproofing, the ability to install third-party mobile apps through the App Store, and several accessibility features. As of 2017, iPhones used a layout with a button on the front panel that returns the user to the home screen. Since 2017, the more expensive iPhone models have switched to a nearly bezel-less front screen design, with app switching activated by gesture recognition.

The iPhone is one of the two largest smartphone platforms in the world, along with Android, which is a major part of the luxury market. The iPhone has generated huge profits for Apple, making it one of the most valuable publicly traded companies in the world. The first generation iPhone was described as "revolutionary" and a "game-changer" for the mobile phone industry, and subsequent models have also garnered praise. The iPhone has been credited with popularizing the smartphone and slate form factor and creating a huge market for smartphone apps or the "app economy". As of January 2017, Apple's App Store had over 2.2 million applications for the iPhone.

History

Development of what would become the iPhone began in 2004 when Apple assembled a team of 1,000 employees led by hardware engineer Tony Fadell, software engineer Scott Forstall and design engineer Sir Jonathan Ive to work on the highly secretive "Project Purple".

Apple CEO Steve Jobs shifted the original focus from a tablet (which Apple eventually rebranded to the iPad) to a phone. Apple built the device during a secret collaboration with Cingular Wireless (which became AT&T Mobility at the time) – at an estimated development cost of US$150 million over thirty months.

According to Steve Jobs, the word "i" in "iMac" (and hence "iPod", "iPhone" and "iPad") refers to the Internet, individual, instruct, inform, and inspire.

Apple rejected the "design by committee" approach, which yielded the Motorola ROKR E1, a largely unsuccessful collaboration with Motorola. Among other drawbacks, the ROKR E1's firmware limited storage to only 100 iTunes songs to avoid competing with Apple's iPod nano.

Cingular gave Apple the freedom to develop the iPhone's hardware and software in-house and even pays Apple a fraction of its monthly service revenue (up to the iPhone 3G), in exchange for four years of exclusive U.S sales, until 2011.

Jobs unveiled the iPhone to the public on January 9, 2007, at the Macworld 2007 conference at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Two initial models, a 4GB model priced at US$499 and an 8GB model priced at US$599 (both requiring a two-year contract), were launched in the United States on June 29, 2007, at 6:00 pm local. At the time, hundreds of customers lined up outside stores across the country. The emotional reaction to the launch of the iPhone resulted in some sections of the media dubbing it the "Jesus phone". Following this successful release in the US, the first generation iPhone was made available in the UK, France, and Germany in November 2007, and in Ireland and Austria in the spring of 2008.

On July 11, 2008, Apple released the iPhone 3G in twenty-two countries, including the original six. Apple released the iPhone 3G in upwards of eighty countries and territories. Apple announced the iPhone 3GS on June 8, 2009, with plans to release it later in June, July, and August, starting on June 19 in the US, Canada, and major European countries. Many would-be users complained about the cost and 40% of users had household incomes over US$100,000.

The back of the original first-generation iPhone was made of aluminum with black plastic accents. The iPhone 3G and 3GS feature a full plastic back to enhance the GSM signal strength. The iPhone 3G was available in an 8GB black model or a black or white option for the 16GB model. The iPhone 3GS was available in both colors, regardless of storage capacity.

The iPhone 4 has aluminosilicate glass on the front and back with a stainless steel edge that serves as antennas. It was previously available in black; The white version was announced, but not released until April 2011, 10 months later.

iPhone 4 users reported telephone calls dropped/disconnected when holding their phone a certain way. This became known as the Antennagate.

On January 11, 2011, Verizon announced during a media event that it had reached an agreement with Apple and would begin selling the CDMA iPhone 4. Verizon said it will be available for pre-order on February 3rd, with a release set for February 10th. In February 2011, the Verizon iPhone accounted for 4.5% of all iPhone ad impressions in the US on Millennial Media's mobile advertising network.

From 2007 to 2011, Apple spent $647 million advertising the iPhone in the US.

On Tuesday, September 27, Apple sent an invitation to a press event to be held on October 4, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. at Cupertino headquarters to announce details of the next-generation iPhone, which turned out to be the iPhone 4S. Over 1 million 4S models were sold in the first 24 hours after release in October 2011. Apple became the world's largest seller of mobile handsets by revenue in 2011, due to the large number of iPhones manufactured and its high selling price. Overtook the long-time leader Nokia. US carrier C Spire Wireless announced that it would be carrying the iPhone 4S on October 19, 2011.

In January 2012, Apple reported its best quarterly earnings ever, with 53% of its revenue coming from sales of 37 million iPhones, at an average selling price of about $660. The average selling price has remained fairly stable for most of the phone's lifetime, hovering between $622 and $660. The production price of the iPhone 4S was estimated by IHS iSupply in October 2011 to be $188, $207, and $245 for the 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models, respectively. Labor costs are estimated at between $12.50 and $30 per unit, with workers on the iPhone assembly line earning $1.78 an hour.

In February 2012, ComScore reported that 12.4% of U.S. Mobile customers used iPhones. There are approximately 6.4 million iPhones active in the US alone.

On 12 September 2012, Apple announced the iPhone 5. It has a 4-inch (100 mm) display, up from the 3.5-inch (89 mm) screen of its predecessors. The device comes with the same 326 pixels per inch as the iPhone 4 and 4S. The SoC in the iPhone 5 is the A6 processor, the chip is 22% smaller than the iPhone 4S' A5 and twice as fast, doubling the graphics performance of its predecessor. The device is 18% thinner than the iPhone 4S, measuring 7.6 millimeters (0.3 in), and 20% lighter at 112 g (4 oz).

On July 6, 2013, it was reported that Apple was in talks with Korean mobile carrier SK Telecom to release the next-generation iPhone with LTE advanced technology.

On 22 July 2013, the company's suppliers stated that Apple was testing larger screens for the iPhone and iPad. "Apple has asked for prototype smartphone screens larger than 4 inches (100 mm) and screen designs for new tablet devices measuring slightly less than 13 inches (330 mm), he added.

On 10 September 2013, Apple unveiled two new iPhone models during a press event in Cupertino. The iPhone 5C, a mid-range-priced version of the handset designed to increase reach due to its price, is available in five colors (green, blue, yellow, pink, and white) and is made of plastic. . The iPhone 5S comes in three colors (Black, White, and Gold) and the home button is replaced with a fingerprint scanner (Touch ID). Both phones shipped on September 20, 2013.

On 9 September 2014, Apple revealed the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus at an event in Cupertino. Both devices had larger screens than their predecessors, at 4.7 inches (120 mm) and 5.5 inches (140 mm), respectively.

After the release of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, some users started complaining of bending from the normal usage of 6 and 6 Plus. This trend became known as "bend gate", which later started the "touch disease". However, they released the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, a more bend-resistant iPhone than the 6 and 6 Plus, to address this problem.

On September 7, 2016, Apple unveiled the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, featuring water and dust resistance, an improved system and graphics performance, a new dual-camera setup on the Plus model, new color options, and the removal of 3.5mm headphone jack from iPhone.

On September 12, 2017, Apple officially unveiled the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, featuring a new glass design, camera improvements, a True Tone display, wireless charging, and improved system performance. It also unveiled the iPhone X, which has a bezel-less design, a facial recognition feature called "Face ID", which uses facial tracking for Animojis, the one with the highest pixel density on an iPhone. OLED screens, a new telephoto lens that works better in low light conditions, and better cameras for AR.

On September 12, 2018, Apple officially unveiled the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR at the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park. The XS and XS Max feature an improved Super Retina display with Dolby Vision and HDR10 support with the XS Max, which has a larger 6.5-inch (170 mm) display, better cameras with Smart HDR, and the A12 Bionic chip. The iPhone XS and XS Max are IP68 water, liquid, and dust resistant allowing the devices to be submerged up to 2 meters for a period of 30 minutes, while the iPhone XR retains the IP67 certification found in the first generation iPhone X. There's also an IPS LCD instead of the OLED display found in higher-end models. The iPhone XS/XS Max's IP68 certifications were tested using a variety of liquids such as chlorinated water, saltwater, tea, wine, beer, and juice. Apple also announced the fourth generation of the Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Series 4.

On September 10, 2019, Apple officially unveiled the iPhone 11 at the Steve Jobs Theater, along with the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max.

The iPhone 12 and 12 Pro series were announced virtually on October 13, 2020, featuring a refreshed design, Super Retina XDR display, and 5G connectivity across all models.

Production

Until the iPhone 4, all iPhone models, as well as other iOS devices, were manufactured exclusively by Foxconn based in Taiwan. In 2011, after Tim Cook became the company's CEO, Apple changed its outsourcing strategy, expanding its supply partners for the first time. In 2012 the iPhone 4s was the first model to be produced simultaneously by two stand-alone companies: Foxconn and Pegatron, both based in Taiwan. Although Foxconn still accounts for the bulk of production, Pegatron orders have been gradually increased, with the company tasked with producing a portion of the iPhone 5c line in 2013 and 30% of iPhone 6 devices in 2014. The 6 Plus model was manufactured entirely by Foxconn. In 2019, reports said some Foxconn managers had used rejected parts to make iPhones and that Apple was investigating the issue. In India, Apple contracts a Taiwanese manufacturer to assemble iPhones to sell in the region, with a plant located near Bangalore.

Models

Current Devices

iPhone XR (2018–present)

iPhone 11 (2019–present)

iPhone SE (2nd) (2020–present)

iPhone 12 (2020–present)

iPhone 12 Mini (2020–present)

iPhone 12 Pro (2020–present)

iPhone 12 Pro Max (2020–present)

Past Devices

iPhone (2007–2008)

iPhone 3G (2008–2010)

iPhone 3GS (2009–2012)

iPhone 4 (2010–2013)

iPhone 4S (2011–2014)

iPhone 5 (2012–2013)

iPhone 5C (2013–2015)

iPhone 5S (2013–2016)

iPhone 6 (2014–2016)

iPhone 6 Plus (2014–2016)

iPhone 6S (2015–2018)

iPhone 6S Plus (2015–2018)

iPhone SE (1st) (2016–2018)

iPhone 7 (2016–2019)

iPhone 7 Plus (2016–2019)

iPhone 8 (2017–2020)

iPhone 8 Plus (2017–2020)

iPhone X (2017–2018)

iPhone XS (2018–2019)

iPhone XS Max (2018–2019)

iPhone 11 Pro (2019–2020)

iPhone 11 Pro Max (2019–2020)